Some surgical procedures provide substitute paths for elimination of body wastes. This is necessitated by the removal or mal functioning of the gastrointestinal or urinary tract. Examples of such surgeries involving the intestinal tract include colostomy and ileostomy.
The bowel waste and other effluent are diverted through the colon to the surface of the abdomen. An opening or orifice is created in the abdomen for the elimination of the human waste there from. This surgically-created opening or “stoma” is coupled to a flexible waste collecting bag or pouch having an opening communicating therewith. The human waste is collected in the pouch. Periodically, the pouch is detached from the opening in order to eliminate the waste contents. Alternatively, the waste content is eliminated from the pouch using a closable drain end of the pouch, distant from the end connected to the stoma.
Such surgical procedures which result in the creation of an orifice in the body for waste elimination are generally referred to as ostomies and the waste collection pouches are generally called ostomy pouches. Thus, for example, the pouch used by a colostomy patient is typically referred to as a colostomy pouch. The ostomy pouches are generally made of durable high grade rubber or plastic and are, therefore, designed for repeated use. Therefore, the pouches require to be thoroughly cleaned before they can be used again after eliminating the waste contents.
Numerous types of cleaning devices are known in the art for cleaning colostomy pouches and the like. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,236, issued Jan. 20, 1998 to Rodriguez et al., describes a colostomy pouch rinsing device which utilizes a spray head attached to a tube. Water is supplied to the tube through a rubber hose which is connected to a faucet. A water control handle is provided which allows the user to control the flow of water to the spray head. In operation, the spray head is inserted into the colostomy pouch while a user holds the pouch over a toilet. The user manually holding the pouch during the washing procedure is not entirely satisfactory. In addition, it is easy for sprayed water to contact the user during the spraying procedure and the water and waste material exiting through the lower portion of the bag is prone to splashing in the toilet and can, therefore, contact the user. In order to prevent the splashing the user would be required to bend or kneel in front of the toilet, or else straddle the toilet. These are very uncomfortable postures, especially, for users having undergone a surgery. Since the cleaning process has to be repeated multiple times in a day, such postures can cause great discomfort to the users.
The ostomy pouch flusher described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,878, issued Jul. 17, 1990 to Petrik et al., uses a wand or tube which is inserted into a colostomy pouch so that water can be sprayed into the interior portion of the pouch during the cleaning operation. This device suffers from the same disadvantages described above.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,668, issued Apr. 14, 1998 to Bugajski et al., also describes a colostomy bag cleaning device which requires manually holding the bag and inserting a spray tube therein. This device, like the devices described above, requires the patient to insert the spray tube into the colostomy pouch while holding the pouch over the toilet. Thus, this device suffers from the same disadvantages noted above.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,506, issued Mar. 25, 1980 to Voorhies et al., discloses a kit for an ostomate. The kit includes a colostomy pouch consisting of a flexible, vertically elongated member with a closed top end for attachment to the stoma, with a downwardly open bottom end that can be opened for flushing, together with a directional water flushing appliance. Since the directional water flushing appliance is manually operated, it suffers from the same disadvantages as described above. In addition, this cleaning method can be applied only to the special colostomy pouch included in the kit and is not extendable to all colostomy pouches.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,971, issued Mar. 18, 2003 to Deecki et al., describes a device for cleaning the interior and exterior of a colostomy pouch. The pouch is required to be placed in a spray shield, which is then inserted in a toilet. The device includes a middle water sprayer for cleaning the interior of the pouch and two lateral water sprayers for cleaning the exterior of the pouch. Generally a colostomy pouch needs to be cleaned at least 4-5 times a day. Therefore, cleaning the pouch both from the interior and the exterior is a time consuming procedure, as this would also require drying the exterior of the pouch, before it can be used again.
In light of the above, despite the attempts made by the prior art devices, there still exists a need for an improved colostomy pouch cleaning device which allows quick yet sanitary cleaning of a colostomy pouch, while causing minimum discomfort to a user. None of the prior art patents, taken alone or in combination, teaches or suggests the presently claimed colostomy pouch cleaning device. Additionally, the pouch needs to be portable so that it can be used in hospitals for patients who are bedridden.